U.S. and Russia Remain at Odds Over Iran Sanctions

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2006 — -- As diplomats in the United Nations Security Council wrangle behind closed doors over a draft sanctions resolution on Iran, glimpses of the contentious negotiations have surfaced this week in public comments.

The United States and Russia are at odds over the strength of the sanctions against Iran for its failing to comply with previous Security Council resolutions calling for Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment program.

Russia seeks an exemption from sanctions for a Russian-built Bushehr nuclear facility in Iran, but the United States is opposed to such exemptions.

A draft of the resolution, obtained by ABC News, allows for some exemptions for the Bushehr site. It appears, however, that these exemptions go too far for the United States and not far enough for the Russians.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that Russia could not accept the current draft. "We cannot support those measures, which in fact aim to isolate Iran from the outside world, including the isolation of the people who are charged with leading negotiations on the nuclear program," Lavrov was quoted as saying in the Russian media.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the notion that Russia would block a resolution. "All that means to me is that they have some changes to the draft that's on the table. That's certainly understandable," he told reporters in response to Lavrov's comments, adding that there would be a period of alternating "hope and despair" as negotiations play out.

The draft resolution, circulated last week by the British, French and Germans to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, calls for a ban on travel and the freezing of assets of Iranian officials associated with the Iranian nuclear program, as well as other measures designed to curb Iran's ability to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

The draft allows for some exceptions with regard to the Bushehr site, allowing for supplies and construction to continue at Bushehr as well as exempting travel bans on officials working on that project.